Category: PNU

Getting stuck in overly congested traffic situations before arriving the school premises is undeniably every PNUan’s dilemma.

Recollecting the words of one professor, we cannot make that excuse for our tardiness a habit until we graduate, for it is becoming more of a “way of life”. It is for our mindsets to adjust in this almost irresolute predicament.

Check out the short digital story my group mates and I created in one of our classes featuring the two kinds of a PNUan travelling to school.

If you would ask me about the growing pains of being a college student, I’d say it’s the burden of being apart from our families back home.

Shakespeare, yes, parting is such sweet sorrow.

Most students have welcoming homes they can return to after a long day in school but for some who cannot afford the fare expenses of the cruel distance, they live in dorms within the reach of university.

Along searching for a possible refuge, I found a fitting poem that reflects an equal sentimentality. The poem is entitled, “Valediction sa Hillcrest” and was written by the former Philippine National Artist, Rolando Tinio. The mood of the poetry is nostalgic as it talks about a man who recalls memories he spent in the two different places he lived in: a foreign land (Iowa), and his native land (Philippines). The quirky and unique use of two languages in telling the story mirrors the persona’s character as the two different places made a special mark in him–like they have become a part of his identity.

This is a type of poem that college students will appreciate and can relate with since many of us live away from our homes to study in university. We cherish both places, create memories in them, and feel a pang of sadness when we are away from the other.

Every time I stand in front of the mirror, I have the common, bizarre, vivid visions like yours

—that whirling dark smoke which seemed to wrap around and suffocate you with nightmares and bitterness until you choke out the magic elements in the periodic table Au Co Na Po and think of vanishing in just a blink of all the eyes staring at you.

It is inside me. It penetrates. It hurts, and all that I ever wanted was to be free once more.

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W.O.W (Words of Wisdom)

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary warm material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."
-Carl Jung